The Right Medicine
by deviant bamboo
Summary: Ever felt like the universe was working against you? I have. Then again, who am I to argue with fate? **Entry for the Meet the Mate Contest - Won Honorable Mention**


**A/N: This was my second entry for the Meet the Mate Contest. If I can find the time, I may do a little futuretake on this little couple.**

 **I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who voted in the contest. This little story actually won an Honorable Mention, which I must say is absolutely incredible considering there were 80 entries. EIGHTY. I am beyond humbled at even being mentioned in a contest that had such a fabulous wealth of writers and stories.**

 **So, thank you again to everyone who read and voted.**

 **As always, I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.**

Emmett stood in my bedroom doorway, fidgeting nervously with a worried look on his face. "Uh…Edward? I may have done something monumentally stupid."

I scoffed at my roommate and best friend, my eyes never detouring from my Economics book. I didn't have time for his bullshit today. A certain brunette had procured all my attention during class and I hadn't been able to take down a single note, so I really needed to finish this chapter. "You doing something stupid would not differentiate this day from any other, Em."

"Yeah…but you're probably going to be pissed about this one."

His admission quickly garnered my attention and I whirled around in my chair. "What the fuck have you done now?"

He let out a long breath and traipsed over to my bed, plopping down on the end with his head in his hands. "Okay, so one of my hookups gave me the clap."

"The clap? Really, Emmett? Have you never heard of a fucking condom?" I chuckled, feeling somewhat sorry for my best friend, but not enough to actually admit it. Emmett was the epitome of a manwhore and sympathy only went so far.

"Think it's funny, huh? You won't be laughing when I tell you the rest of it."

I laced my fingers together behind my head and leaned back in my chair, slightly amused by this turn of events. "Alright, Emmett, I'll bite. By all means…please tell me how your _gonorrhea_ is my problem."

Emmett sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, so I'm only twenty-two, right? Which means I'm still technically covered under my dad's medical insurance. When I started to suspect there might be a problem…you know… _down below_ …I knew I'd need to see a doctor. Problem is, I've been to every doctor's office in the area including the downtown clinic. I couldn't give them _my_ I.D. They'd file it to my dad's insurance!"

Dread slowly built in my gut and acid coated my tongue as I asked my next question. "Emmett…if you didn't give them your I.D., whose did you give them?"

He pulled a wallet from his back pocket and tossed it toward me, snickering as I fumbled it like a hot potato. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was _my fucking wallet._

"You know, the crazy thing is, all I had to say was that I'd really filled out over the summer. The chick at the check-in desk ate that shit up. Didn't so much as bat an eye when I said my name was Edward Cullen–"

I was out of my chair in a second, shoving Emmett out of my room and down the hallway. "Are you fucking serious with this shit? You'd better be joking!"

His cocky demeanor dissipated as he held his hands up in surrender. "Ed, man, I didn't have a choice!" he pleaded. "My dad would kick my ass if he found out!"

"I don't give a flying fuck, Emmett! You had no right! I mean…Jesus!"

"Okay, okay…I'm sorry–"

I was seething with anger as I glared at my best friend. "You are such a fucking dolt! They ask you at check-in if your insurance has changed. All you had to say was you were no longer insured. They would've just let you pay the fucking bill!"

His eyes widened as he processed my statement, a slow hiss escaping from between his teeth. "Damn…I didn't know that."

"Goddammit! That shit will go on my medical records, Emmett! I get my school physical done at the downtown clinic!"

"I know, dude! That's the fucking problem!" he shouted as he flopped down into the broken recliner in the corner. In an act of pure karma, the recliner kicked back and nearly dumped Emmett on his head. The green monstrosity was a sad casualty of one of Emmett's _study group sessions_. I'd since refused to sit in the fucking thing and, given his current situation, my concerns weren't unwarranted.

Boiling rage sizzled across my skin like an electrical current as I watched him struggle to regain his footing. "What do you mean that's the problem? What aren't you telling me?"

"Dude, I swear it wasn't my fault! The doc did the exam and then said he'd get my prescription ready and meet me up front. When I got up there, the chick at the front desk said my prescription had been sent electronically to the pharmacy you had on file!"

Ah, fuck me. That meant it was sent to the campus pharmacy. I knew people at that pharmacy. "No one said anything to you when you picked up the meds?"

Emmett huffed and threw his hands up in the air. "Haven't you heard a single word I've said? I couldn't pick up the prescription! That guy at the counter knew you and told me to beat it as soon as I flashed your license."

I pinched my arm…hard. Nope, still awake. What a fucking nightmare. "So, let me get this straight. You took my wallet from my nightstand and posed as me at the downtown clinic where the doctor diagnosed you with gonorrhea. The clinic sent the prescription for your meds to the campus pharmacy under my name. When you tried to pick up the prescription, posing as me once again, a worker that _apparently knows me_ recognized my picture and refused to give you the meds. That about sum it all up?"

"Yeah, man." Emmett sighed. "So, the only way I can get the prescription is–"

"If I go pick it up myself…" I finished, shaking my head. "Fuck, Emmett…I'll never forgive you for this shit."

"You have to admit, it's at least a little funny."

Two hours and a black eye later, I was positively fuming as I made my way up to the pharmacy counter, ducking in between displays and curtailing around corners until the coast was finally clear. In a lame attempt to remain as covert as possible, I grabbed a fishing hat off of one of the endcaps and shoved it down over my head. I glanced around the aisles for anyone within earshot and, not seeing any other shoppers, darted to the counter and tapped the bell three times in quick succession.

My eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when my parents' nosy next-door-neighbor, Mrs. Stanley, ambled forward from behind the massive stockpile of prescription medications. She greeted me with a warm smile as she smoothed her hands over her smock, her name tag gleaming from the overhead lights. The words embossed in black across the plastic badge were nearly my undoing.

Starla Stanley, Pharmacy Manager.

Fuck my life.

"Well, hey there, Edward. I thought I saw your name pop across my fill list today! I'm pretty sure Carl filled your order before he left, so just give me a sec to find it." She turned her back to me and began filtering through the hanging rack of filled prescriptions, all neatly organized and alphabetized in their clear plastic bags. "So, how's your mom? I saw those rose bushes of hers the other day! How that woman finds the time, I'll never know…"

My mouth ran dry as all hope of coming away from this situation unscathed left my body in one fail swoosh. "Uh, she's fine, Mrs. Stanley," I squeaked around my sandpaper tongue. "I…uh…didn't know you worked here."

"Well, with Jessica off at college I just couldn't stand to be in that empty house all day. So I took a job here. I don't normally work in the evenings, but Carl had to go home early, so I'm covering the rest of his shift."

Panic gripped me with icy fingers as I racked my brain for a way out of this. "You know…I just remembered, I'm late…for my…uh…thing. I can just come back later for that–"

"Oh, nonsense!" she scoffed, waving a hand in my direction. "I've got it right here."

Sweat broke out across my forehead and ran down my temples as I watched her pluck my order from the hanging rack. There was no escape. She had the medicine bag dangling between her bright red, manicured talons. Any minute now, she was going to read off the name of that medicine and she'd be on the phone to my mother faster than I could blink. I wanted to cry.

She held the bag up to within an inch of her nose and squinted at the smaller lettering under my boldly printed name. "Oh, poo! I left my glasses on the back table. Blind as a bat, I tell you." She chuckled. "Never get old, Edward…it's a nuisance!"

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but just as I was about to turn tail and run, fate intervened.

An infectious giggle wafted over my shoulder, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. I'd know that laugh anywhere. For fuck's sake, I'd only been obsessing over its owner for the better part of a year. Bella Swan, the love of my life and star of every single clichéd fantasy that had ever run through my head, was eyeing me curiously as she shrugged into her smock.

She rounded the counter and set her bag down on the floor next to the register, her dark ponytail swishing over her shoulder. "Mrs. Stanley, how many times do I have to tell you to attach a chain to your glasses and you'll never have to set them down."

"Oh, Bella, I'm so glad you're back! I hope you had a nice dinner, dear." Mrs. Stanley smiled at Bella genuinely.

"Yep. Barbeque hot pockets tonight!" She rolled her eyes and took her place behind the register. "Are you being helped, sir?" she asked me with a bright smile.

Mrs. Stanley sidled up next to her, placing my offending medication on the counter. "Oh, Bella, this is Edward Cullen. He's my neighbor's son. His mother and I are very close." She turned and headed toward the back, mumbling about her elusive glasses, only to reappear empty-handed. "Where in the blue blazes did I lay those things?"

I was sweating bullets as I watched Mrs. Stanley search every nook and cranny. The expression on my face must've screamed deer caught in the headlights, because Bella cast a sympathetic look in my direction before reaching for the bag containing my prescriptions. She glanced down at the informational sheet stapled to the outside of the bag and gasped quietly, her eyes darting back up to mine.

All I could do was shake my head. Apparently, Emmett had a particularly nasty strain of gonorrhea; the drug resistant kind. The attending physician at the clinic had prescribed him Suprax and Doxycycline, a drug cocktail that screamed 'I have an STD' to anyone with even an inkling of medical knowledge. For fuck's sake, it was plastered on just about every flyer handed out at Planned Parenthood and I'm pretty fucking sure they even slipped that little STD factual pamphlet into every new student orientation packet at school.

I was completely mortified. "Oh, God...I swear it's not for me," I whispered, my eyes pleading with Bella as they traveled back and forth between her and Mrs. Stanley, who was still intent on finding her glasses.

For a brief moment, Bella looked a bit guilty, but quickly regained her composure. "Mrs. Stanley, I can read the instructions to the customer if you'd like. That way he won't be held up any longer."

"Oh, that would be great, Bella. Thank you for being so considerate!" Mrs. Stanley made her way back toward us. "I'm sorry to have kept you, Edward, but federal law states that I have to make sure you acknowledge receipt of the correct medication and requires me to make sure you understand the instructions."

Before I could reply, Bella cleared her throat and picked up the prescriptions while I hung my head in shame. My business was about to be announced aloud for everyone to hear…and the medication wasn't even for me. I was going to kill Emmett for this.

"Amoxicillin, 500mg." My head snapped up at her declaration, but she simply trudged ahead. "Take one capsule by mouth four times a day until gone. This medicine may be taken with or without food."

I was completely speechless and watched, perplexed, as she rang up my actual prescriptions. I numbly handed her my credit card, which she quickly swiped and returned to me.

"I just need you to sign that I've read these instructions to you, Mr. Cullen," she continued, motioning to the stylus attached to the small signature pad. "I hope that ear infection clears up quickly."

I nodded mutely, signed my name, and threw a quick wave to Mrs. Stanley before hightailing it out of the store with my procured drugs. Instead of heading back to my car, I strode to the side of the building and sat down on the corner of the pavement, tears of embarrassment stinging my eyes. I had no idea why Bella had just saved my ass back there, but I was determined to find out. Fuck Emmett and his burning dick. I'd just wait for Bella to get off work and confront her about it.

Looking down at my phone, I noted that I had about thirty minutes until the pharmacy closed. I also saw fifteen missed calls from Emmett. Fucking impatient bastard. I sat on that curb for over an hour, waiting patiently as the employees closed up and began to trickle out to their cars. It wasn't but a few moments later that Bella stepped out, searching her bag for her car keys.

"Hey, Bella! Wait a second." I quickly stood, my ass completely numb from sitting on one place for too long, and made my way toward her. She looked shocked to see me and a little scared. "Hey, it's okay. I just wanted to ask you a question."

She fidgeted under my gaze, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Uh, sure…Edward. Mrs. Stanley's already gone, though, so I'm not sure–"

"No, it's not a medical question." I hesitated briefly before leading her over to the well-lit curb where we both took a seat on the pavement. Steeling my resolve, I blurted the only question that had been bouncing around inside my brain since I'd left the pharmacy. "Why did you do it?"

Her eyes flashed with fear and she looked away from me for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you cover for me back there with Mrs. Stanley? I'm pretty sure you just violated a few HIPAA regulations and at least two state statutes. So why?"

Her cheeks blossomed a fiery red and she refused to meet my gaze. "I…well…she knew your mother. When I saw what the doctor had prescribed, I just felt like I should do something." She hid her face in her hands and groaned. "Oh, this is so embarrassing."

I scoffed and stared at her incredulously, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. "You _did_ just witness that clusterfuck of epic proportions in there, right?" Lifting my recent purchase in the air, I shook the bag so the pills would rattle. "I just picked up prescriptions for an STD that I don't even have. Embarrassed doesn't begin to cover it!"

She giggled at my response and pulled the pony tail holder from her hair, letting the long strands float around her face. "Well, the truth is…this is all my fault." She whispered that last bit so softly, I almost missed it completely. "See, I work as a nursing assistant on the weekends down at the clinic on 5th Street. I was with Dr. Collier when he examined your friend this morning, but I already knew Emmett even before that."

"Oh shit, you two…never…you know–"

Her eyes widened in shock and she shook her head furiously. "God no! Emmett dated my roommate, Rose, a few times. I was actually surprised he didn't recognize me when I walked into the exam room, but he didn't even give me a second look. When Dr. Collier addressed him as Edward Cullen, I was shocked. But…he's your friend. I mean…I see you around campus with him all the time. So, I didn't think he was doing anything…malicious. I just thought you were…I don't know…helping him out." She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Edward. I should've said something–"

I held up my hand to stop her apology. "No, it's okay, Bella. Emmett's an ass for doing this in the first place, but I guess to an extent I understand. His dad's a real bastard." As I ran her words over in my head, I couldn't escape this nagging feeling. "So, you've seen me around campus then? With Emmett, I mean?"

I'd seen her around campus as well, but we also had three classes together. I was ashamed to admit that I purposefully sat two rows back and three seats to the left of her in every one of those classes, just so I could stare at her without seeming like a fucking stalker.

"Uh…sure…around campus and stuff." She suddenly seemed very nervous and it wasn't lost on me that we were both shy and awkward around the other. "And in Econ…and English. Oh, and Calculus. Bane of my existence, that one."

I chuckled a little at her admission. I was actually really good at math, but nothing in that class held my interest except her. It was an addiction I was trying to come to grips with. "Hmm, I know what you mean. It's a pain, but I do have a pretty good mind for it. When I can stay focused, that is." She stared at me with just a hint of a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I tend to have trouble focusing in certain classes, too." The orange glow of the streetlamp over our heads gave an odd tint to her skin, but I could still see the faint blush on her cheeks. "Calculus is the worst, though. I just can't seem to grasp the material."

Fuck, I'd been a complete fool all this time. I should've taken Emmett's advice and just asked her out, but I'd been too chicken shit to take the initiative. Maybe this was my way in. "I could help, you know. With Calculus? I could…maybe…tutor you. If you'd like."

She flashed me a genuine smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Really? You'd do that?"

My answering smile was just as wide as hers as the tension between us began to wane. "Sure. I'd be happy to. We could meet at the library on Tuesday around six and maybe grab a bite to eat before hitting the books?"

"Like a date?" she asked with one quirked eyebrow.

"Ah, no," I replied, internally chastising myself as her face fell in disappointment. "A date would be dinner and a movie. Tomorrow night. What do you say?"

Confusion clouded her beautiful face for a brief moment. "Are you asking me out?"

I decided that I'd played it safe for way too long. It was time to step up and lay all my cards on the table. "Yeah, Bella, I am. I've liked you for a really long time and I'd like to get to know you better. So, will you go on a date with me?"

The poor girl looked completely dumbfounded and my heart sank at the thought that she might shoot me down. Maybe I'd read this wrong. Maybe she didn't look at me the way I looked at her.

"I'd love to," she whispered, causing my bruised heart to soar. "I…I like you, too."

I thought my face would surely split wide open with the force of my grin. She'd said yes. I could barely contain my excitement as I grasped her small hand in mine. "Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to tell me to take a hike."

"Well, you are holding a bag full of STD meds. I probably _should_ say no." She chuckled and poked me in the ribs.

"Oh, jeez…you have no idea," I laughed, holding my stomach. "I wanted to crawl in a hole and die when you saw the prescription. I knew I'd just lost all chances at winning you over."

She gazed up at me with bright eyes. "Silly man, you had me a long time ago. You just never knew it."

Her statement left me reeling and gave me all the encouragement I needed. Cupping her warm cheek, I ran my thumb along her bottom lip, silently asking for permission. She licked her lips and leaned into my hand. Taking the biggest risk of my life, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers.

We moved together seamlessly. She gripped my shirt tightly as I threaded my fingers through her hair, her sweet taste exploding on my tongue. It was better than anything I'd ever imagined. And as I kissed her in that parking lot, I could see our entire future laid out before us. A lifetime of love.

Two lives intertwined; brought together by an STD. Now there's a story for the grandkids.


End file.
